Runners can help raise awareness and fund research about Lyme disease during "A Race Against Lyme."
The 10k, 5k and one mile fun run will raise money for the International Lyme and Associated Disease Society. It will begin at 8 a.m. Saturday, May 30, in Bob Henry Park. The race is chip-timed and winners in each age category will receive medals.
Jessica Wei was inspired to organize the fundraising race for ILADS after watching her friend and coworker Alisa Hipp battle Lyme disease over the past two years. ILADS promotes understanding about Lyme disease, works to educate healthcare professionals and the public about the disease, and funds research.
Hipp's local doctors initially thought she had multiple sclerosis, a disease which affects the nervous system. She was scheduled for appointments with both MS and Lyme disease specialists, but the wait time for both appointments was three months. She prayed to receive direction about which route she should follow. The next morning she received a call from the doctor specializing in Lyme disease saying an appointment was open that day.
"It literally took a miracle to get diagnosed," she said.
Since then Hipp has been on rotating antibiotics to keep the symptoms in control and frequently makes the six hour drive to visit her specialist in Columbia, Mo. Without the antibiotic treatment, Hipp said she isn't able to get out of bed.
Lyme disease is controversial, Wei said. According to the Arkansas Department of Health website, www.healthyarkansas.gov, there are currently no ticks in Arkansas that carry Lyme disease. The website states that individuals who travel to other parts of the country, especially the Northeast and Midwest, might have become infected while traveling.
The ADH website states that the disease is caused by the bacterium Borrelia burgdorferi and is transmitted to humans through the bite of infected blacklegged ticks. Symptoms include fever, headache, fatigue and a characteristic skin rash called erhthema migrans. If left untreated the infection can spread to the joints, heart and nervous symptoms, the website states.
Hipp said that according to her research an estimated one in 10 ticks carry Lyme disease in Arkansas. Hipp said she has met 21 people in Siloam Springs who have been diagnosed with Lyme disease but guesses the number could be much higher.
According to ILADS, Lyme disease is prevalent across the United States and throughout the world. A patient's county or state of residence doesn't reflect their risk for the disease because people, pets and ticks travel.
Fewer than 50 percent of patients with Lyme disease recall a bulls-eye rash or even a tick bite, according to ILADS. The screening test most commonly used for Lyme disease screening is unreliable and misses 35 percent of culture-proven Lyme disease. More accurate tests are available and are used by doctors who specialize in the disease.
Wei, a runner, said she was inspired to hold the race in honor of her friend to raise awareness about the disease. Educating healthcare professionals and the public about the disease is her biggest concern.
She said people need to enjoy the great outdoors but also take precautions recommended by the Center for Disease Control such as using bug spray and removing ticks promptly.
"It shouldn't take a miracle to get diagnosed," Wei said.
For more information about Lyme disease visit www.ilads.org. To register for the race visit araceagainstlyme.com.
General News on 05/27/2015